The Feast
Directed by Lee Haven Jones
★★★★
Description: THE FEAST STILL 4
Characters/Actors: Nia Roberts as “Glenda” and Steffan Cennydd as “Guto” in Lee Haven Jones’ “The Feast.’
Type: Photos
Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Midnight. An IFC
I always love to spend Halloween watching some scary movie, typically from the 80’s revolving around some over-sexed teens that get killed by some machete-wielding hockey goalie or by some hulking, pale William Shatner-looking maniac. This year, however, I had a screener for Lee Haven Jones’ The Feast, and boy was it different from the movies I usually spend time with on All Hallow’s Eve.
Centering around a well-off Welch family’s dinner party in the mountains, The Feast follows a aberrant Cadi, who has taken over at the last minute as the matriarch's helper in preparing the titular feast, as she quietly observes each member of the family and sees them for who they are. Though it may sound stodgy and typical, what unfolds is anything but.
The film is undoubtedly folk horror and has an extremely vivid sense of place. The lush Welsh landscape provides a false sense of safety for its oft protected characters. Jones captures the vibrant beauty of the natural setting in beautiful wide shots, plucking his characters right into the frame, almost as if they are unsolicited intruders looking to exploit.
Additionally, the film is an ensemble piece, the cast is well and carefully selected, each member filling out their role in such a knowing manner. Particularly towards the latter act of the film, when two other characters are sprinkled into the mix, we get to see how well-matched each of the performers are.
The Feast is not an easy film to dissect without giving clues to what is actually going on, but it's fervent condemnation of the way humanity takes advantage of the people and things that are in its vicinity is both damning and somehow optimistic. Though not your typical horror, the film leans into the new style of folk horror with a focus on man’s effect on the natural world that seems to be emerging as of late (with both In The Earth and Lamb coming out this year) and centers itself as a necessary horror with a terrifyingly urgent message.
